The Resume

(March 27, 1909-September 20, 1973)
Born in Kansas City, Missouri
Jazz tenor saxophonist
Played with the Duke Ellington orchestra (1935-36,1940-43,1948-49)
Recorded the albums 'King of the Tenors' (1953), 'Music for Loving' (1955), 'Music with Feeling' (1955), 'Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster' (1957), 'Soulville' (1957), 'Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson' (1959), 'Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster' (1959) and 'See You at the Fair' (1964)

Why he might be annoying:

He started on violin and piano before taking up sax.
Musicians who worked with him said he had a Jekyll and Hyde personality (usually dependent on how much he had been drinking).
He left Ellington's band after an altercation in which he cut up one of Ellington's suits.

Why he might not be annoying:

With Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins, he was one of the 'big three' of swing-era tenor saxes.
He successfully alternated between playing rough and raspy on uptempo numbers and with warmth and sentiment on ballads.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz called him 'the best loved of all saxophonists, perhaps of all jazz musicians.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 27]
• I Covered 'Mack the Knife'
• I Died in 1973 (Ranked: 64)
• I Recorded ‘Autumn Leaves’
• Jazz Artists
• Joy of Sax(ophone)
• Look at My Album Cover
• Profiles 28251-28500 (Ranked: 28293)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 5.56% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 4153 Votes: 23.62% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 23 Votes: 52.17% Annoying